Knightmare
by Literaturefangirl
Summary: Robin has an unsettling nightmare. Can his new dad find the right words to cheer him up?


That's how it starts. A kick, cries of horror and a sudden feeling of warmth that turn sleeping men awake.

"Padre!" Robin kicked the door to Bruce's bedroom wide open and came running inside.

"Huh?! Wha- what's happening? Is the house being set on fire again?!" Bruce suddenly rose from his bed, as he felt a warm presence pressing against his leg. The darkness of the night giving him no clue as to what was happening.

Turning on the lamp on his bedside table, Bruce saw that the source of the warmth was coming from his adopted son Robin, who had snuck under the covers of his bed.

"Robin! What are you doing in my bed in the middle of the night? I was dreaming about nachos!" Bruce asked, annoyed by the sudden interruption.

"I had a nightmare that I was gone and you were all gloomy and beat up criminals without mercy because of _me!_ " Robin spoke rapidly, fear rising in his voice. Upset by the thought that he was responsible for Batman's new and cruel brand of justice.

"Yeah… I'm going to need Alfred on this one." Bruce, realizing his shortcomings admitted out loud and reached for a walkie-talkie sitting on the bedside table.

"Alfred, do you read me? Over." Bruce pressed a red button and spoke into the walkie-talkie with a hushed tone.

"Loud and clear, sir. How may I be of assistance?" Alfred calmly responded, offering his help.

"Robin had a nightmare. He's in my bed and I don't know what to do!" Bruce told him urgently, sounding unsure as to what to do next.

"Have you tried giving him a hug and reassuring him with comforting words?" Alfred suggested with his usual dry tone.

"Alfred! That's a great idea! Thank you!" Bruce thanked Alfred for his useful suggestion. He would have to add that one to the good ideas made by other people list later.

"Happy to be of service, sir."

Setting the walkie-talkie back on the table, Bruce turned towards a tearful Robin and embraced him. "It was only a dream Robin, I would never go that far! Or let _anything_ bad happen to you!"

"Thank you, Papa!" Robin's voice rose, as he expressed his gratitude for the man he had come to know as Dad.

"Listen, Robin. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to pretend that nightmare never happened and then Alfred is going to bring us some milk and cookies. How does that sound?" Bruce demonstrated his prowess for quick thinking by giving Robin a plan to lift his spirits.

"That sounds swell, Dad!" Robin praised the idea. The dated word making Bruce smile.

"Alfred, we're going to need some milk and cookies, ASAP!" Bruce ordered over the walkie-talkie.

"Right away, sir!" Alfred responded and arrived at the bedroom shortly after. "Milk and cookies, sir. As you requested."

"Thank you, older dad!" Robin thanked Alfred as he approached the bed holding a glass of milk in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other.

Manners aside for a moment, Robin took a bite out of a cookie and asked with his mouth full. "Bruce, is it OK if I eat past my bedtime?"

"Sure it is!" Bruce exclaimed, seeing no problem with that.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Master Bruce?" Alfred gave Bruce a friendly reminder, hoping he would take some initiative with some pro-active parenting.

"Uh… don't leave crumbs on the bed?"

"No."

"Wipe our milk moustaches after drinking?"

"No."

"I should leave the last cookie for my son?"

"Yes, for the last one, but I was thinking more of teaching Master Robin responsibility for his actions." Alfred gave Bruce a clue, waiting for a response.

"Regarding _dental hygiene_." Alfred elaborated when Bruce still didn't understand.

"Oh! Now I get it!" Bruce realized what Alfred was getting at.

"That's the spirit!"

"You can eat the cookies Robin, as you long as you brush your teeth after. You'll need bright, shiny teeth like your old man if you want to appear on magazine covers." Bruce gave Robin his permission and flashed him a smile to prove a point.

Alfred shook his head at Bruce's unique reasoning.

"Look at me! I'm Alfred!"

"Now I'm Alfred, too!"

But it made the old butler smile to see his two sons sharing a happy moment together by making milk moustaches, even if was at his own expense.

* * *

 **I love throwing shade at BvS, don't you? That's why it had to be the source of Robin's nightmare in the fluffy, nightmare one-shot I wanted to write after watching the film.**


End file.
